By now, and with the release of Get Shown The Light, I'm not sure what's left to say about these shows. I've had the entire spring '77 run on tape for years, and I've turned more people on to the Dead with them than I can remember. Like the 2 shows before it, this night offers some seriously transcendant material. Keith remains my favorite keyboard player to sit with the band and Jerry's Travis Bean remains my favorite tone of all Jer's axes. What I tell people is, "there's no BAD versions of anything on any of these tapes. But there are several difinitive versions throughout." In-between is America's best ever band playing at the peak of thier powers and catching fire night after night after night after night...... As for the 'best ever' argument, I'll stick with 8-27-72. But between all of the spring of '77 shows, I'll always be in the Cornell camp because I'm just not very cool.

Yes, better than Cornell. Best Help/Slipknot/Franklin's Tower ever to start off show!

This is truly why I love the Dead so much. My ex-wife turned me on to them many, many moons ago. It's the only thing I still have from that marriage. I could never be more Grateful. Love to all from Rochester, NY..

I used to think Cornell was the ultimate, but that was before I heard this show. So many surprises. Tennessee Jed, Big River, The Music Never Stopped, and so many more. Someone said Franklins Tower was the best ever but I think the Golden Gate Park show in 75 has a better Franklins, but who am I? I never got to see them live.

My favorite years for the dead are 77 and 78. Jerry is on an out of this world level, Donna Jean beautiful voice accents perfectly. This show has my personal favorite Brown eyed woman, this version is so perfect and full of soul.

Everybody seems to be jumping on the " Buffalo is better than Cornell" bandwagon and it's becoming very cliche to do so. While this is one of the best shows of 77, and thats saying alot, it doesnt have the incredible highs of 5-8-77 IMO. The final jam in Fire and the Morning Dew from 5-8-77 are at the absolute apex of GD music, among the top 5 jams EVER! I'm talking up there with the Feelin' Groovy jam from 2-13-70 and the St. Stephen jam from 4-29-71. This Buffalo show has its share of highlights but nothing as jaw dropping as the Fire and AM Dew from Cornell. IMO the highlights of 5-9-77 are very sweet but it still doesnt hold a candle to the blazing pinnacles of 5-8-77.

VG recording.

This is a wonderful sparkling show, much better than Cornell, much more consistently 'on' and crackling with energy.

But I guess, once Cornell got talked about, it snowballed and no one wanted to be caught saying that they 'couldn't see the emporer's new clothes'. It's sad that Cornell has become the representative to the GD; a show that keeps non-initiates scratching their heads saying "[other than the 'morning dew'], this sounds really sloppy and uninspired".

I like this one, it has a loose feel and a good Slipknot etc. but the much-lauded Peggy-O is not nearly as good as 05-05-1977, try the two back to back, no contest. Plenty of good stuff here from the classic month of May 1977. My first show was 05-15-1977 in St. Louis and all of the Spring 77 stuff brings up great memories. Headphones anyone?

help-slip-franklin, the best ever?

im about 4 minutes in and im already amazed wishing i could of been there had my eyes closed for a while imagining jerry singing and playing just i dunno man good stuff glad to be able to hear it make that 6 now haha

I can't wear it out, I keep loving it more with each listen. Everyone is so sharp. It might even be Donna Jean's best show. The words are not intended to frighten anyone away from this show. She actually sounds sweet and her voice is well-balanced in the mix. It works very well this time.

This is the third Comes a Time in seven shows -- also 5/1/77 and 5/4/77 -- and it again caps a great show in one of the finest periods of the band. So Jerry's solo here is my favorite.

Mere words can't do justice to this show. Please, enjoy!

Still have this tape....somewhere. What a gem. I will say this though. There's a reason 5/21 was plucked for a DP......the put-a-lump-in-your-throat version of Comes a Time.

JK

Why don't more people know about this one.

I like this one far better than Cornell.

Help>Slip>Franklin's is downright hypnotic. Tight throughout. Sunshine Daydream is absolutely insane, will make Donna lovers out of Donna haters.

This is a decent AUD, if you like the show, find the SBD elsewhere. (YOU CAN STILL TRADE SOUNDBOARDS WITH THE BAND'S BLESSING, JUST NOT ON THE ARCIVE).

definitely a must have.

Oh my god, The Music Never Stopped gets truly insane towards the end. Done in a way only the Grateful Dead could do. Thank you so much...

I used to listen to the SBD version of this show (I'm talking as late as last week). Now it's gone. What happened? Does anyone know?

excellent

What a great stretch of wonderful Grateful Dead music.

great show! pristine comes a time. that said, an interesting contrast for all those Donna haters out there is the comes a time from 7-17-76. Donna is mysteriously absent yet Jerrys voice has that youthful 76-78 sound. That said, donna sounds great on this[5-9-77]version; as she does in most of the May '77 shows. She must have been able to here herself,plus shes mixed at the perfect level. Not always the case in '72-74

...but I like this AUD recording. Maybe I'm not picky (some might say i'm not "discerning," but i promise if the sound sucked i'd say so!). the Comes A Time is just ridiculously beautiful. Jerry's solo will blow you away, and there's a section at 8:53 where he and Bob's guitars come together - whoo! it'll give ya goosebumps for sure! it gets me every time...

Much love and gratitude to the folks who put this together and posted it, and thnx to the archive for keeping it in its cradle.

We have to find the good ones that are left until this mess gets straightened out. This is a good post pillage concert.

I heard on an interview once, and I think it was one of Garcia's wives who said that people are always seeking that special something and the Grateful Dead provides that "Cookie" as she called it. Today I feel like sombody stole my cookie.
Where did all the music go ?

Dead forever and forever Dead !
If we can't get in the front door we sneak in the back. No one will ever crush the spirit that lived at those concerts. And it was never about the money for those of us that "got it". I'm sure that knowing of the existance of all that music will drive us with the same force that had me hitching from Chicago to Philly with 25 cents, a jar of peanut butter, a jar of jelly and a half a loaf of bread.

We will get by.

May 1977 had some of the greatest concerts of all time. This set list is amazing. Opening up with Help On the Way, and playing Comes a Time at the end. Love it, live it.

This show was the 3rd show I went to. The first was the previous fall in Syracus, now found on a Dick's Pick disc, and my second was the previous night at Cornell. At the Cornell show I came to understand what it meant to be a Dead Head while the band burned through an unbelievable Estimated Prophet. Over the years we all have heard how great that show was, but check this one out! It's even hotter. I could care less what format the show is preserved in because I don't have anyway to burn them, but I do appreciate a rightious groove and that's what this show exemplifies! Enjoy!

Hell with that! This is the show that I compare all my live recordings to! If it doesn't meet the standards that this one SETS, it's not good enough for my collection... Hard words eh? Best damn Franklins Tower I ever heard... If I may be wrong, do inform me! I am openminded! Just can't stand reviews that simply put one type of recording over another. Every version I've heard of this show has been the best, SBD/DAT, whatever generation, etc... The 1st set took alot out of these guys, that the 2nd gets off to a questionable start... And simply wins the day by the time you are out of space! Great show!!!

If you're used to the SBD of this show, do yourself a favor and check out this AUD version. The quality is amazingly good, in fact I think it rivals the SBD, with the added bonus of feeling like you're in the crowd.